On Burning Wings
by solotheory
Summary: The Scientist and the Posessed work together to reclaim a fallen fortress. The Endermage and the Cyborg seek vengeance for their lost home. Two corporations rise to war. Two old friends do what they've always done best. They fly to war on burning wings. Whose side are you on?
1. Chapter 1

Looking up from the tangle of wires and circuitry, Lalna adjusted the goggles on his forehead and sighed in frustration. He had been trying to get this faulty transfer node working all day, and was beginning to get annoyed.  
"I don't see why it's not moving the stuff...might as well just build a new one," he muttered under his breath. "I guess it didn't cost too much." He stood up, legs weary from kneeling down to work on the machinery, and stumbled over to the chests on the ground floor of PandaLabs. Although he hadn't intended the building to look...well, cute, he couldn't exactly object to Nano's new name for their base. Once that girl had made a decision, it was final.

Rummaging through the containers, the scientist searched for the required parts. As he was doing so, he heard footsteps behind him, accompanied by the pattering of dozens more small legs. Lalna looked behind him to see Nano coming downstairs, followed closely by the newly-constructed Luggage.  
"How's it going?" She seemed happy, he supposed. She'd been gardening all morning, out in the sun whilst Lalna worked on a new item sorting system indoors. Sorting systems, as he often loudly complained, were the bane of his entire existence.  
"Not well, I'm afraid. This bloody transfer node configuration..." He shook his head in irritation.  
"Ah. How about retaking the castle then? You said we would." Nano smiled sweetly, in the way she normally did just before disembowelling whoever refused her requests.  
"Yeah, yeah...it's a difficult project, okay? I need to modify an arcane bore in order to wash away the flux so it'll be safe. Proper tough magical stuff, you know. Complicated. Yeah." He shrugged, hoping this half-baked explanation would satisfy her for now. It didn't.  
"Lalnaaa..." She folded her arms. "We are not getting rid of the flux, I told you. I like it!"  
"You may like it, but it hurts me! I can't live in my own damn castle if there's that much flux." Lalna didn't like arguing with his companion, but this was a matter of safety. Not that he'd ever given that much thought to it, but certain death was just a bit too high-risk.

"What about a sorta magical hazmat suit? You made those during the war, didn't you, for your reactor?" He sighed.  
"I suppose I could...alright, I'll get to work on that. Can you grab me some leather? And some osmium?" Nano silently chided herself for starting Lalna off on yet another of his science projects as he rambled on. "Oh, I'll also need Order Shards for the...tell you what, I'll just give you the blueprints. We'll work on this together, how about that?" She looked up, surprised. Usually it was just "Nano, do this" or "Nano, bring me these". They'd never truly worked together on something before. Maybe he reciprocated her feelings...no, there was no sense in fantasising further about that. She smiled again, this time a more tender, genuine one.  
"Alright, sounds good. Where do we start?"


	2. Chapter 2

Rythian Enderborn hacked through yet another tangle of branches, cursing Lalna, Xephos, technology, and just about everything else under the sun. Behind him traipsed Zoey and Tee, two very different companions. They had been walking for two days and a night now, and their food supplies were running low. Zoey was wounded, the dinosaur was restless, and morale was generally low. They had seen a large building up ahead, and were heading for it in the hope that whoever lived there would deign to lend them a hand, but there was something of a problem. Between them and the building was a thick forest, with few breaks in the canopy and an undergrowth thick enough to stop a rampaging golem in its tracks. It was slow going, to say the least.

"Zoey," Rythian called over his shoulder. "Are you sure there's nothing that robot arm of yours could do to help? This is damn tiring." She examined her prosthetic doubtfully.  
"I suppose I could use the plasma cannon. But that might just burn down the forest. A bit. Sorry." He sighed.  
"Never mind. We'll keep going - hey, it's not that far." They looked up. The building was a little closer, of course, but still definitely a long way off. "Let's just take it one step at a time." Suddenly, the bushes rustled and a scaly nose emerged, followed by the rest of the bow-toting dinosaur.  
"Tee!" Zoey exclaimed. "I didn't even notice you'd gone..." He growled softly, and held out a piece of parchment. On it was a crudely-drawn picture of the tower and a small building next to it. A barely-recognisable rendition of the Strife Solutions logo was emblazoned on the tower.

"He must have been scouting," Rythian mused. "Let me see..." He stopped in his tracks at the sight of the logo. "Oh, goddamnit!"  
"What is it?" Zoey looked up at him, concerned. The mage sighed and leant back against a tree.  
"They're greedy businessmen and lovers of technology. Everything we're against. We can't go to them for help." His cyborg lover looked dismayed, holding up her right arm.  
"Everything we're against, Rythian?" She'd put up with all his anger for the majority of this journey, she'd been injured badly thanks to his feud with Lalna, but to be dismissed as evil by the one she loved...

He shook his head, looking down.  
"I'm sorry. It's just...the damn scientist. He did this to us. I should have killed him with that portal trap."  
"I know," she sighed. "It's not science we need to fight though. And honestly, I don't think it's Lalna either. Can't you just let this go?" Rythian looked back up at her, violet eyes glinting.  
"Zoey, I love you. I want you to be safe. But until the man who injured you and cast us out is dead, I'm not letting anything go. We have to steel ourselves for this last leg. I promise you, Zoey. Lalna Jones will die by my hand, and we will be free."


End file.
